Oh, That Boy
by moonshin3
Summary: ..He was simply gushing over the Malfoy boy. It was constantly written all over his face.. whenever Draco was in the vicinity. Or brought up in conversation.. It made Hermione ill. But it also made her think. The timing was obvious, this crush had began right after Slughorn's Potion Class, right after an hour spent brewing love potion..
1. Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy was set upon one of the large stone benches that lined the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. He was pillared by one Blaise Zabini and one Pansy Parkinson. He was tossing a vibrant green apple softly between his two pale hands and staring absentmindedly at nothing in particular.

He was feeling quite drowsy from spending an extra long and frustrating night cabinet mending and was therefore not at all looking forward to his Tuesday morning Potion's class. Something quite as green as his juicy apple caught his eye from across the room, and he switched his gaze quickly and peered down into his lap.

"Bloody, Potter," he muttered to himself.

"Hm?" Came a female voice to his right.

"Nothing Pans. C'mon, let's go to class."

"But it doesn't start for another-"

"Let's just go."

Draco chanced another glance around, and found very quickly that he shouldn't have done so. Potter was very skillfully twirling a banana between his lips. _'Oh, that boy.'_

* * *

"Malfoy was staring at you all through breakfast, mate," Ron said upon reaching the door that lead to Potions.

"Oh, he was not."

"He was, actually. It was a bit odd." Hermione said, coming up behind the two with Neville in tow.

"What did I do to anger him this time?"

"Well, he didn't exactly look angry, did he Ron?"

Ron shook his head, and the four Gryffindor's entered the dim classroom.

**"What _did_ he look then?"** Harry _would_ have asked this if Draco himself hadn't been standing right on the other side of the now backward swinging door. The platinum haired boy, upon spotting Harry, took on a very odd sort of expression, _indeed._

"Harry," the boy said with a small nod as the Gryffindors passed.

"Did he just use your first name, Harry?" Asked Neville once they were out of Draco's earshot.

"I do believe so." Harry said.

Ron and Hermione exchange glances.

* * *

Draco Malfoy took his usual seat in potions class and Professor Slughorn came bouncing into the classroom.

"Good morning, ladies and gents.." he began.

"What's that you've got in your pocket, Blaise?" Draco asked, ignoring his pudgy teacher.

Six or seven decent sized lumps could be seen through the fabric of his robes.

"Muffins," the boy with the darker complexion replid. It came out in a muffled sort of way, for his cheeks were stuffed with the cakey stuff and a dozen or so little purple berries.

Draco shrugged. "Well let me have one then."

Blaise extracted a muffin from his pocket and set it on the table in front of Draco. But it was quickly forgotten. Almost every student in the room ceased their discussions and began to focus on Slughorn's little speech, for he had mention what sounded an awful lot like, 'today we will be making a love potion,' several jaws dropped, "it's mild, mind you, not terribly strong. But it's very long lasting."

A love potion? The sixth years had yet to make a love potion. Magical, or non magical, these students were teenagers; if love potions began to regularly float about it would surly mean disaster.

"These potions are not to leave this class, understand." Slughorn spoke over the newly formed commotion. "Now, now this lesson is merely for experience sake. You will find that I have written the instructions of the board. You may proceed."

Predictably the students set off at once. Soon the air was full of a pinkish mist, and an oddly sweet sent, if this had been a video game, pink hearts would be floating all around.

Harry's potion was coming around rather swimmingly, and he had to admit that he felt a bit foolish.

"Me, as well." Ron said, when Harry told him this. But Ron wasn't receiving all of the overly obvious stares that Harry could feel from every direction.

"Well, what do you expect mate? The Chosen One, brewing a love potion. Just about every girl in the room is getting her hopes up."

But it wasn't the girls' stares that were putting Harry on edge.  
Not at all.  
The eyes that Harry couldn't shake off were a slate gray pair, defiantly male.

Class ended quite abruptly. Slughorn set to vanishing the potions after catching Romilda Vane trying to smuggle a bit of hers into an empty blue perfume bottle. Slughorn hurriedly ran around the classroom waving his wand over each cauldron. But when he got to Draco's he accidentally bumped the pot with his round belly and sent the contents spilling over the table and onto the floor.

"Sorry, m'boy," he said, cleaning the mess.

What he didn't notice, however, was that he had spilled the potion over the pocket muffin Blaise had given to Draco.  
No one else noticed this either.

Disappointed, and a bit sour faced, the Slytherins and Gryffindors exited the classroom.

"Harry, could you hang back for a moment. I have something of yours."

"I'll meet you in the common room," Harry said to Ron and Hermione before turning heel and heading back towards the center of the room.

"Let me go and get it. It'll only take a moment." Slughorn disappeared into his office, and Harry took the nearest seat. When he sat down, he noticed a particularly yummy looking muffin set on the table before him. His stomach growled at its scrumptiousness. Another student must have left it behind. Harry figured he might as well take a nibble or two, since he was stuck here anyway. What harm could it do?

* * *

**Quite a bit of harm, it'll turn out.**

**Reviews please **

**xx**


	2. Chapter 2

'_A blank scrap of parchment with my name on it.'_ Harry thought, as he meandered his way up a stair set in mid change. _'That's what Slughorn kept me after for.' _

_'It isn't even my writing.'_

It was true. Whoever had blotched Harry Potter's name on this yellowed piece had an odd sort of cramped writing. Upon closer examination, Harry found that the paper smelled oddly sweet. Of a fruit he couldn't place…

Harry extracted the muffin from his pocket and took a few generous bites on his voyage up. He had intended, at first, to only taste said muffin, but after he had had that first nibble, he just couldn't stop. Its taste was something magnificent, sweet, soft, warm, and _oh so sweet, sweet, sweet._

Approaching the Fat Lady, Harry murmured the password, and then climbed into the common room. Sixth year Gryffindor's had a free period after double Potions, and so the room was occupied with about a dozen red and gold adorned students who were either finishing up last bits of Charms homework for Professor Flitwick this afternoon, playing shiny new boards of Wizards Chess, or making small popping sounds with their sets of Exploding Snaps.

Harry took a seat on the floor near the back wall where Hermione was finishing her essay on the proper wand motions, and when to use them, and Ron was peeking over her shoulder attempting to add a few more inches to his pathetically short roll.

"What'd he give you?" Ron asked, while sighing and retying his parchment.

"Nothing important," Harry dismissed.

And they let the subject drop.

Hermione read over her paper several times, while Harry and Ron, joined by Ginny – who was feeling a bit under the weather - and stalked by Mclagan, discussed Quidditch tactics.

At one point Ginny reached over and wiped a crumb from Harry's lower lip.

"Sorry, you had a little-"

Ron looked quickly away.

"Oh, it's fine." Harry said, right as Hermione declared, "Finished!"

Ron gave a little start, and Hermione waved it away with a flick of her wrist.

"Where did you get that Harry?" She was pointing towards the dark haired boys left hand, in which was the half eaten treat.

Harry's shrug was apparently not the answer Hermione was looking for.

"What did you do, pick it up off the floor? Who are you, Crabbe and Goyle? Honestly, it could be charmed. Or cursed.'

"It's just a muffin Hermione, I'm sure it's harmless."

"Oh, be quiet Ronald. Let's go."

The three sixth years waved a goodbye to Ginny, and then hurried out of the common room. Hermione looking rather angry, Harry confused, and Ron. Well Ron was hungry.

The hall outside was brightly lit and full of the murmurings of class in session.

"Where are we off to then?" Harry asked, swinging around a staircase banister.

"I'm going to the library. You're welcome to join me."

"Oh Blimey Hermione, do you have to go the library everyday?"

"Yes, Ron. Some of us actually like to learn." And with that, she turned on the heels of her shoes and began her walk to the library.

"Yes, Ron. Some of us actually like to learn." Ron mocked at her retreating form.

"I heard that!"

"I meant you to!"

Harry couldn't help but to bust out with laughter.

Ron went down to the kitchens to tickle the pear and see if he could persuade Dobby to make him a few muffins and Harry, who was beginning to feel a bit woozy, was left to himself. He was walking with an oddly chipper sort of smile on his face as he paced through the corridors of the seventh floor. He passed by a bathroom that was rarely inhabited and heard a sound not often times heard emitting from a boys lavatory.

Someone was crying.

Maybe he should have left it alone, kept walking. Chances were, this person wanted to be alone, but something drew him towards the door. A turning in his stomach was pulling him towards this unnamed person, like an invisible string being wound.

He pushed the door open, and stepped inside, making sure the door clicked to a close behind him.

A white haired boy's reflection peered at Harry in the tall mirror over the bathroom sink.

"Came to have laugh, Potter?"

His usual grumpy demeanor was obviously back, and strong as ever.

Harry just stared. He put his hand into his pocket, ready to extract his wand if the situation appeared to call for it. But Draco was oddly calm. And so was Harry.

He didn't feel any hate towards this boy who had done nothing but bring him hail and storms from their very first meeting onward. He felt a bit of compassion, maybe even some empathy. Like Harry, Draco's hand was forced in this Wizard Battle. He didn't get to choose his side and role, either.

Draco may be working for the wrong side, but they were both pawns, and Harry knew this, even if he didn't know what exactly it was that Draco was set to do.

"No," Harry said, taking a few steps in the direction of the sink, and the boy.

"Then what in the bloody hell do want?"

"I don't know."

"Well, isn't that lovely."

Draco grabbed a purple towel from the rack, and began mopping his gray eyes.

"I'm sorry,"

"For what?"

"I don't know." Harry was quickly nearing Draco, and he didn't know what his intentions were. He came up right behind him so that both of their reflections were cast together in the mirror. Black hair, next to white. Tanned, and browned flesh, next to pale. Gray blue eyes next to green. Good intentions, next to evil.

"I'm sorry too."

They nodded together, and that sensation of churning erupted in Harry stomach. Pulling him even closer.

When they kissed, they were both shocked. Draco pulled back abruptly, and Harry began to apologize, but Draco leaned back in, staunching the flow of empty words.

The heat came quickly and glowed from inside of them, fusing them together in an odd haze of unexpected emotions. Draco took command and backed Harry furiously against the stone wall. In doing so, a piece of parchment fluttered from Draco robes and fell open on the lavatory floor.

_Harry Potter_, it read in familiar cramped writing.

* * *

**Wrote this forever ago.**

**More to come if I get some reviews.**

**Suggests are more than welcome.**

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

"_**You did what?"**_

Hermione's infamous shriek could be heard probably throughout the entire castle.

"Hermione keep your voice down,"

"I will _not_ keep my voice down Harry Potter. You can not _possibly_ have said what you just said."

"But Hermione it was so right. It was so absolutely right."

"You sound like a muggle school girl, and this is _Malfoy_ that you're talking about. Honestly, can you even hear yourself?"

"I don't know how it happened Hermione, but I don't regret it. Not at all."

Harry's cheeks actually blushed, turned a shade of red, and his grin was so wide that it squished his eyes into adorable little slits.

Hermione's small mouth gaped, '_this can not be happening'_ she thought.

But it was.

Harry entered the afternoon's charms class with a little skip and a hop. Hermione followed his footsteps in awe towards a table currently occupied by Ron and Neville.

"Hullo." She said, plopping into the seat beside Ron's.

He muttered his reply through a mouth full of food. "Theevleswereverygenerous." He shrugged. She nodded.

"Now class." Hermione turned her attention to the small man behind the podium at the front of the class. His foot slipped a bit on the pile of books he had stacked in way of a stool, but he kept his balance and continued on, "today we will be learning a complex vanishing charm. It will disappear an object and return it to the place it was last set. It's a difficult cast but there's a trick to movements. If you'll just pick up your wands and mimic my motions."

The class did as Flitwick did, they practiced moving their wands through the air in the set pattern. A few minutes later they were given the incantation and set to begin practicing.

"Whoever is to mast the spell by the end of today's lesson will have the pleasure of accompanying me down to the dungeons where I think a few Slytherins might be heading to class. May be a treat so send their books back to their rooms, eh?"

* * *

In the end there were 6 successful casts. One belonging to Harry, and another to Hermione. The group of students, led by Professor Flitwick, made their way through the castle and into the dungeons. They past right by the Potions classroom and turned down the hall towards the Slytherin dormitories. Indeed there were several Slytherin students about, either rushing through the halls or set upon benches studying or conversing. Many of the Gryffindor party did just what they had intended. Vanished a few books and there, a pair of shoes from a first year, and then returned back upstairs to either be early to dinner, or to lounge in the common room.

Harry had other intentions, and Hermione could sense them. They muttered something about a latrine emergency and when they came back from their respective bathrooms, Flitwick had gone.

They spotted Draco with ease, he came out of the Slyherin common room's door as if on cue. He was tall and slick and handsome, in Harry's mind. Especially in the contrast of his shadows known as Crabbe and Goyle. He couldn't help the dopey expression that came to his face.

"Harry?"

Draco began to walk down the hall in their direction, making inaudible chatter with his cronies, oblivious to the world around him.

"Harry?"

"Ow." Hermione had slapped Harry right on the fleshy part of his arm.

"You weren't playing me any mind. What good do you think will come of this interaction."

"I just want to talk to him, Hermione. To see how he fe-"

"Potter." Draco passed by with an imagined wind in his hair and a fierceness in his gait.

"He said my name Hermione."

* * *

"Potter was standing right there, Draco. Why didn't you mess with him?"

"Yeah, standing right there in _our_ hallway."

"Hush up boys. Who cares why Harry was there."

"Did you just call him.. _'Harry?'_"

"That is his name Goyle."

Crabbe and Goyle shared very confused glances.

* * *

"Something's not right."

"Everything is fine Hermione. Let's just head up to the Great Hall. Ron is probably there waiting for us."

"No. You're off. Way off. You've been acting strangely ever since.."

"Ever since what?" Harry began to make his way out of the dungeons, forcing Hermione to follow.

"Ever since Potions.. Harry, what did Professor Slughorn give you?"

"Only a parchment with my name on it."

"A parchment with your name on it? In who's writing?"

"I don't know."

"Not yours?"

"Not. Certainly not mime."

"Well don't you find that a bit odd."

"Maybe, but not me. I'm fine. Dandy, in fact."

Hermione stopped in her tracks for a moment, and Harry looked over his shoulder back at her.

"_Dandy?"_

"Yes, dandy. And not particularly hungry. You head to dinner without me. I'll see you around the common room later on."

"Yes, fine.. But Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful and well, rational."

* * *

Harry climbed several sets of stairs heading the direction of the Gryffindor tower. When he arrived there it was to his immense delight. Draco was sitting, waiting for him, set pretzel on the floor with his back against the wall right beside the fat lady.

* * *

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

"_Potter."_

"Malfoy."

The exchange was cold, usual.

Harry sat down beside Draco on the stone floor, instigating pointed looks of coldness from the Fat Lady.

"Why did you kiss me?" These words were Draco's.

"I don't know that I did. We both rather, sort of, kissed eacho-"

"You kissed me Potter, and I would like to know why." These words came in a harsh whisper. The sound of small footsteps could be heard coming up a set of nearby stairs and this was not a conversation to be overheard.

"Later?"

"The Dark Lake, midnight."

"I'll be there."

* * *

Harry Potter was looking forward to The Dark Lake, midnight. So forward to it, in fact, that he could hardly help Ron practice his spell for Flitwick and couldn't begin to start the feet and feet of parchment he still hadn't written from last week's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They were due in the morning.

He gave up his efforts, deciding to take Snape's wrath in the morning and save himself from an oncoming headache.

He found Ginny in one of the common room's corners, all cuddled with a blazing red blanket and a book that looked of the for pleasure category. He sat down beside her and she smiled. Usually Harry would have taken the time to admire her simple smile. He would have glowed for it actually, but tonight he was some what distracted.

He asked Ginny to a game of Wizards Chess, at which she would massively kick his butt.

It didn't matter either way though, Harry was simply killing time.

* * *

Time passed efficiently enough. By 11:00 the common room had completely cleared out. Harry went through the efforts of undressing and getting into bed. Before a long time had been spent staring into the folds of his canopy, the 5 boys he roomed with were solidly snoring. Harry crept out of bed, pulling he invisibility cloak along behind him, like a child and a shiny blanket.

Down the stairs and in the common room he pulled the cloak on. He disappeared through the Fat Lady and didn't reappear again until he was set beside a tree on the bank and was waiting.

* * *

The platinum haired boy arrived on the dot. He looked scruffy as if he'd been asleep; tousled hair, sleepy eyes, a wobbly gait. Harry found it all to be rather adorable.

"Is that a blanket Potter?"

Harry's eyes followed Draco's gaze to the ground where his invisibility cloak was sitting all scrunched up. "Oh." He hadn't thought to be cautious with the cloak, hadn't remembered that Draco didn't know about it. "A blanket, yes."

Harry rose to his feet a grabbed the 'blanket,' gave it a flourish and let it lay flat on the ground.

It proved to be rather comfortable.

"So we're here to discuss the kiss."

"Yes." The pair was sitting rather snug and Harry could feel Draco's leg against his, the subtle rise and fall of his body with each of his intakes of breath. "What of it?"

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to. Do I need more reason than that?"

"No." Draco shook his head slowly, falling into a rhythm that Harry had to fight not to mimic. It would have been entertaining but also probably rude. Instead Harry began to drift closer to Draco, that magnetism back, a subtle pull from his stomach. If not a bit lower.

He moved almost unperceivable nearer and nearer to the blonde haired boy, and his cheeks began to blush, heat rising to his face. It was a particularly chilly night, but in this moment he didn't notice in the least.

All of a sudden something bad happened. The ground began to shake, just a little, more like vibrate. A few birds left their trees. Harry looked all around and spotted it. Something was moving beneath the glass surface of the lake, churching the dark water. And then it could be heard. "Students out of the castle." At first, the words weren't clear, weren't even necessarily English, just a dull tone added to the consistent shake. But the words were repeated, louder and more clear each time.

Draco jumped to his feet in shock. "We have to hide, someone will hear this."

"Sit back down."

"But we'll get into trouble, and my father.. My father will-"

"It's okay, just sit back down. This isn't a blanket."

"It's a blanket?"

Harry shook his Draco and sat back down. They two boys backed themselves up until their backs were pressed firmly against the apple tree they had taken as shelter for the night. Harry pulled the fabric of his invisibility cloak over their bodies, and just in time. Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris thundered out of the castle's wood doors. The noise had stopped, and to Harry it seemed as if the creature had stalked back to the depths where it belonged. But Mr. Filch was obviously on a mission. He searched the grounds, and thoroughly. Looked behind every bush, around every corner, even in the first few bunches of trees that lined the Dark Forest.

At one point Mr. Flich passed directly in front of Harry and Draco, searching the perimeter of the water. Harry felt Mrs. Norris's lamp like gaze and as always had the impression that the cat could see right through Harry's shield. Draco grabbed at Harry's hand in the scariest of moments, under the gaze of Filch's cat, and all of the pressure in this boy could actually be felt deflate at the pair walked a way. His grip on Harry's hand loosened but he didn't release.

"I think we're safe."

Draco agreed. He agreed so much that he grasped Harry's face and pulled it in the direction of his. "This is a fantastic blanket Potter."

Needless to say, they kissed again, and eventually it got light outside.

* * *

**xx**


	5. Chapter 5

Breakfast the next morning was _quite_ the affair. Harry – of course – being in the love soaked state he was currently in was just dying to boast of the previous night's events; to brag the details of his best snogging session to date. But he knew better.

Harry knew that words about his new fling with Draco wouldn't go over smoothly. He could just imagine the loud register Hermione's voice would enter as she had her go at him, and the horror that would sweep across Ron's face..

No. This was a secret to be kept.

But he couldn't help the staring.

Or the smiling.

"Whatever is going on with you Harry?"

"Nothing Hermione." Harry stuttered it, going suddenly, comically, sullen faced. "Not a thing." His smirk returned a bit in the corners of the mouth.

* * *

Hermione didn't buy it. She didn't buy it at all.

She remembered the summertime; the too short nights at the Burrow. The less than subtle relationship that was steadily growing between Harry and Ginny – that had been growing since longer than that really, that had always been growing.

And now.. Ginny sits in corners, and smiles at boys she used to be interested in. It wasn't right. And then there was Draco.

I wasn't even feasible to think that Draco was the reason Harry had stopped being interested in Ginny, _and yet she did. _She had seen the looks, the smiles, the times consumed in thoughts of him. Harry was usually pretty difficult to read, but he was simply gushing over the Malfoy boy. It was constantly written all over his face whenever Draco was in the vicinity. Or brought up in conversation..

It made Hermione ill.

But it also made her think.

The timing was obvious, this crush had began right after Slughorn's Potion Class, right after an hour spent brewing _love potion._

Hermione had to find out whether or not it might be possible that Harry had consumed any of the love potion from Draco's cauldron – and if so, - had to figure out the cure, the reversal of this potion, this curse.

She would begin her mission in the Potions classroom, and then of course, go to the library.

* * *

**Xx**

**As always please review.**

**I like to take suggestions into consideration.**

**I even enjoy insults.x:**


	6. Chapter 6

Transfiguration with McGonagal; that's where Harry Potter should have been. Incidentally, he had been sidetracked on his way.

He had left breakfast with the sole intention of going to transfiguration with McGonagal, but he hadn't quite made it there.

About 5 minutes and 6 flights of stairs after leaving the Great Hall Harry began to realize how very tired he was. He must have dosed for a bit during the wee morning hours. He remembered closing his eyes to dark blue skies, streaked with purple. And when he opened them again the shade of blue was considerable lighter and the purple was gone, replaced with oranges and green, colors in-between. A considerable amount of time must have passed. He remember hesitantly waking Draco who was slumbering beside him. Their bodies mostly covered by the invisibility cloak. Harry removed it, not liking the severed head visual. Revealed, Draco looked peaceful in sleep. This was part of the reason Harry paused before shaking Draco awake, the other part was from a small tinge of fear. Fear for the way Draco would react.

He was pleasantly surprised. Coming fully into consciousness Draco looked over towards Harry, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek before getting up, and stumbling his way to the castle.

Now, making his way up another set of stairs Harry's eyes began to get heavy. Transfiguration was looking more and more like a chore with each step.

His bed was calling him and so he went to it.

* * *

Draco was in his bed. He had been in his bed for the better part of five hours. But he wasn't asleep; he hadn't been able to find sleep regardless of his hard efforts. His mind was simply too clouded, too swirling with thought.

He wasn't sure how he felt. Not that he really gave fudge for how he felt, but he was still conflicted. His feelings for the dark haired boy had been known for as far back as Draco could remember knowing the boy at all.

It had been easy enough to hide it over the years, to cover it with hate and hurtful words, but now..

Draco never knew whether or not Harry had reciprocated these feeling, but now.. now the feelings were even more than mutual, they were being acted upon.

It should make Draco happy, jolly even. His secret didn't have to be a secret.

But maybe he wanted it to be. Perhaps this fire wasn't supposed to be lit. Maybe he should have gone on these last years at Hogwarts with out ever sending a romantic notion Harry Potter's way.

It seemed to Draco that everything would have remained simple if he had just been able to keep his impulses at bay.

But not it was too late now, it was far too late.

* * *

Hermione didn't feel the need to go to transfiguration this morning, not that she was skipping per say. She really didn't need to go. She was days and days ahead in book work and practice. She spent the hour in the library researching love potion.

Slughorn hadn't been much assistance when she had gone to see him. He straight up denied any possibility of one of his students ingesting any potion from this class room without his consent; didn't even want to hear her case, or the names of the students involved. He offered her some damp cake, with she refused, and then ushered her out of his office, out of his classroom. She huffed all the way to the library.

She poured pages and pages, books and books about love potions. There was a lot of information there. Over 70 different potions of many different effects and potencies. None of them provided any words about the specific potion they had brewed in class. None of them.

Some entries described life long binding, short hour long flings of such intensity to drive madness into people, small crushes that will develop but sometimes never be acted upon, some that last for a few weeks – spring lovely romances – and then dissipate, leaving someone heartbroken and someone else disgusted and ashamed.

But none of them matched up - ingredients and procedure - to the one she remembered brewing.

There was nothing, and Hermione walked away from the library that day feeling as if she'd been let down by an old friend and just as confused as she had been that morning at breakfast and for the last few days, really.

* * *

**Xx**


	7. Chapter 7

Draco Malfoy left his bed in time to make it to his last class of the day. History of Magic, nothing too treacherously mind bending – nothing too difficult to comprehend – was being muttered from the ghost professor's _drawwwing_ mouth.

Draco spent most of the hour daydreaming in a corner, scribbling a familiar name over and over on a small piece of yellow parchment with the tip of his green feather quill.

He wasn't paying much mind to his surroundings; he caught a few of Professor Binns's words, "war.. trolls that were twice the size of houses.. the trees would catch fire.. and in the towns there was talk of.. " but the lecture was just buzzing in Draco's ears for the most part. So oblivious was he that he didn't notice Pansy Parkinson come up behind him at the conclusion of class until it was too late.

" .. Pott..e-er?"

Draco quickly flipped the parchment over face down on his desk in reflex, but the damage was already done. His cheeks flushed soft pink.

"Having troubles with your words Pansy? Need some help reading?"

"I can read fine." She said it excessively defensive. "I just couldn't believe that it said that is all."

"Well.."

"Is something going on with you and Potter, Draco? Lately you've been behaving really oddly around him."

She couldn't have noticed, he was hardly around the pug nosed girl these days. But apparently she had noticed. Draco realized then how much time Pansy probably spend paying attention to him while he wasn't even aware of her presence. While he was paying attention to someone else..

"So what if there is? Jealous Pans?"

Pansy nodded to herself but Draco didn't notice.

"Look, everyone is gone." He said this getting up from his seat, collecting his books. "Just keep out of my business, got it? It doesn't concern you."

She stood there, continuing to nod, and watching his retreating form as he exited the classroom.

* * *

Harry ran into Draco in the corridors. Not in the literal cliché way that usually happens in these situations, but in the figurative way meaning they were in the same place at the same time, and noticed each other. The collision came later.

Harry looked behind him and met Draco's gave as the blonde haired boy was crossing the small hall place behind him in order to step in stride with Harry.

"Hullo."

Draco had no verbal response. Instead his put his arm rather forcefully around Harry's shoulders and steered him into a tapestry that hung from the wall, and through, into a secret passageway. Harry had known it was there because of the Marauders Map, but how had Draco? Harry realized then that this boy was probably more complex than he was given credit for.

Draco pushed his tall frame against Harry's sturdy body. The space was small and dark and considerably warm in comparison to the castle's main parts with its winter's wind shook windows, and poor ventilation. Magic did nothing against the elements.

"Hi." He finally responded.

His hands were resting on the wall behind Harry's head, one on either side of Harry, sort of holding him there in place. It was simple for Draco to go in for the kiss.

Their eyes met and they kissed with a now somewhat familiar passion. Deep, fast kisses that usual led to more than kisses, and quickly. Draco's hands moved down and met Harry's sides, taking grip. He worked his hands slowly downward. No complaint came from Harry.

Harry was busy kissing Draco with more intensity than he knew he could muster.

He had been longing for this kiss again - aching for it - ever since he had woken up by the lake. It was a feeling unfamiliar to Harry, surprising, and the fulfilling of it's want was a pleasure that made Harry eager for more. For so much more.

Eventually Draco broke loose.

"We need to have _that talk_."

"Whaaa..?" Harry was in a happy little daze.

"Meet me in the Room of Requirements tonight, whenever you fancy. I'll be there for hours." And with that he exited the small concealed passageway. Harry learned hard into the wall and slid down to the floor, let out a deep breath. The tapestries swooshed against the floor before falling into place a ceasing movement.

* * *

**Xx**


End file.
